Local governments say ‘transparency is building trust’

Monday

That’s why Sunshine Week is important, according to University of Missouri School of Journalism Professor Sandy Davidson.

Davidson’s comments are included in an article posted last week on SunshineWeek.org where she says it’s a right for everyone to know what your government is doing – or in some cases, failing to do.

Here’s how your local government gives you access.

In the sunshine

“’In the sunshine,’ while celebrated one week a year, is actually the standard operating procedures the city government operates under 52 weeks a year,” said Jacksonville City Manager Richard Woodruff.

All of the Jacksonville City Council meetings and workshops are broadcast live, which is something the Onslow County government and North Topsail Beach Board of Aldermen does, too.

Agendas are made available to the public online at the same time they’re given to the city council, Woodruff added, and again Jacksonville isn’t alone in that.

Holly Ridge also makes their agendas available online when the town’s council is given their packet, said Town Clerk Heather Reynolds. At each council meeting, Reynolds said the minutes from the previous meeting are voted on and when adopted, she works to put those minutes out online the next morning.

And those minutes are very in-depth, Reynolds said.

While researching previously, Reynolds said she noticed minutes from meetings in the early 2000s were very short, with just a sentence of information without any background included.

To combat this Reynolds said she tries to be as in-depth as possible, including details, so those who weren’t able to make it to the meeting have a full understanding of what happened.

“Our minutes read more like a story,” Reynolds said. “I really want somebody to be able to look at our meetings . . . 100 years from now and say, “Wow, that’s what happened.’”

Building trust

Public records requests can be made at any local government agency.

“All records of the city (Jacksonville), except those that are ruled confidential by state law, are available for review through the city clerk’s office,” Woodruff said.

Public records requests of this nature are normally filled within 48 hours, Woodruff added.

Many documents are readily available on Jacksonville’s website, as well as in all other municipalities and the county website.

The Richlands website is a good place to start when looking for information on the town, said Town Administrator Gregg Whitehead.

Documents like public hearings, ordinances, and some necessary forms can be found online, Whitehead said, and they try to keep the website as up to date as possible. Anything not found on the website that’s a public record can be requested at town hall.

The important thing isn’t just being transparent, it’s building trust, said Maysville Town Manager Schumata Brown.

Brown focused on building that trust recently by hosting a dinner with the manager. That evening he explained the negative financial situation the town is in, including printing out documents for each table, in an effort to be open and honest with the people living in the town.

“If you’re transparent with (the community) and let them know what you’re doing, they have a better trust in you. Transparency is building trust,” Brown said.

Emailed communication

Reynolds also works with the community to make sure the community has access as soon as possible.

The town has a “sunshine list,” Reynolds said, and anyone on that list gets information about meetings or public notices directly. While most of it is done by email, Reynolds said some ask for the information to be faxed or mailed instead.

It’s up to each person how they want to receive the information, Reynolds said.

North Topsail Beach Interim Town Manager Steve Foster said the beach town has a sunshine list, too, that’s continually updated as they focus on getting information out to local media sources as well as information for meetings and special weather events.

Brown also has a master email list he uses to send out updates. He includes anything he thinks the Maysville community should be aware of, including special project grants the town received.

Swansboro also uses email blasts and as well as a quarterly newsletter and a message from the manager that includes special events and upcoming meetings, said Town Manager Scott Chase.

As part of the town’s overall strategic plan, Chase said they want to identify areas where they can expand on communication.

“We have a few commissioners that actually post things on their Facebook page,” Chase said.

Those commissioners are looking at an even more transparent future.

The future of local government

Swansboro is partnering with Fiscal Transparency and Clear Gov to allow the community access to detailed budget information for the last five years, Chase said.

The new accessible information would include showcasing how the Swansboro community compares to others of similar size, including in police and fire spending.

Chase said the town is still compiling data and is in the building stage at this point, but it’s something they hope to be able to share with the community soon.

Onslow County is also working on being more transparent.

“If it’s a public record, we give it,” said Onslow County Manager David Cotton.

The county government is open to the public for review and scrutiny, Cotton said, and they want to put every document possible out there for public access.

The county is looking at different vendors now to make it so someone only needs to type in the most basic search and have information at their fingertips, including resolutions, contracts, shared internal documents, monthly finance reports, and briefs from Cotton to the Board of Commissioners.

Right now the county is considering the storage capacity necessary – which could be limiting – to complete this goal, but said their view is if it’s a public record, why wait until someone asks for it?

Why not, Cotton said, just give it to them?

Communication

“I think communication is a big challenge,” Chase said.

People communicate differently, he continued, with some people preferring newspapers while others like radio or television.

It’s a challenge presented to local governments as they try to reach as many people as possible.

While email seems to work the best for Swansboro, Reynolds said she still has some in Holly Ridge who prefer hard copies through the mail or by fax.

Foster said learning new ways to connect with the community is something the North Topsail Beach government always has on their minds.